Bobsled

Hello everyone, new to UHH but been receiving the news letter for sometime. Currently shooting with a Canon 7 D, but thinking of upgrading to a full frame body. I mostly shoot grand kids sports and car races, just getting into bird watching. Does anyone think this would be a good idea ? If it is only so so and you can't take advantage of the great features on these Sony bodies then I should maybe go in a different direction. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you Bob Held

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

To use Canon glass you would need an adapter, metabones has a good reputation. The Sony A9 appears to be a great camera but you may wish to think about lenses...

This seems to be a balanced review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv1JCHfXDdY

You will clearly get a variety of responses, some very pro Sony, others a little more skeptical. Probably the biggest issue is which lenses you have. Canon EF lenses should be OK (ish), but EF-S lenses or any other brand designed for an APS-C sensor are not so likely to work well.

If you can afford to buy Sony lenses as well as the A9 that may be the better path.

Good luck.

Bobsled

I have the 70-200 2.8 non is, 100-400 , an the 24-105 . Probably the 70-200 is my most favorite. The Sony rep I spoke with made it sound like the best thing I could do, when I upgrade, I had been thinking about the 5D mark 4 as my next body. Thank you for your input. Bob

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Personally I would go to the 5D IV, but the Sony does get some decent reviews. The market is in transition. The 5D IV is the latest in a mature product line, the Sony A9 is new technology, so it becomes an interesting choice, and interesting has many interpretations!

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

What is the 7D not doing for you? Do you print larger than 16x24? Do you do a lot of low light work? You might be better off with the 7D2 and put the remaining 2 grand into the 100-400mk11

Bobsled

Hello, I don't always get the best focus on my bird shoots, or moving subjects, like in soccer or at the race track,i don't print over 18x24, just thinking a new body would help this situation out. Bob

repleo Loc: Boston

If you want to use your Canon glass with metabones adapter for AF, I think you will need one of the second generation A7's (A7ii, A7Rii or A7Sii).

The A9 is aimed at the sports photog but is way overkill for shooting grandkids! Better to put the money in a college fund for the Gkids

I think you would get all of the benefits of Sony's technology with an A6500 - compact, light, fastest focus, 4K video inc slow motion, eye focus, IBIS, huge buffer and more 'reach' for your long lenses. Canon lenses should work in AF on it also (without eye focus).

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

I shoot with a 7D, the 5D series, and a Sony A7R2. I have a Metabones IV adapter and use most of my Canon L glass on the Sony with few problems. The one exception is slow and sometimes erratic focus with the Canon 100-400 (first generation.) I love the IQ and high resolution of the A7R2 for landscapes and general photography but I promise you will not be happy with this body shooting race cars, sports, and birds - it is simply too slow to focus and the very slight shutter lag will drive you crazy. The specs on the Sony A9 are amazing but you will be back down to the resolution of a 7D2 or 5D3 - both are very good but not the 42 MP of the A7R2.

D.T.

Most 35mm glass should be transferrable to the Sony. I moved from a Leica M-3 to a Sony Alpha 7S, which is full-frame and water resistant with a magnesium body. Its weight approximates that of the M-3. I bought an adaptor which has no auto focus or F stops connectivity, and ALL of my Leica lens work just fine. They vary from 21mm to 135mm, and were made between 1963-2015. Therefore, I do the focusing and the lens' F stops.
Just make certain that there is an adaptor available for your lenses. It is always on, and am able to change the lens just as fast as with the M-3.
I have the best of both worlds: decent, compact, high resolution from corner to corner lens and a digital recording machine with automatic exposure which I can manually modify for backlighting. Plus, this model (2015) has a digital zoom to 4X; its shutter can be silenced; I can zoom in to double check my focusing; and the monitor or viewfinder can be shut off so as to not bother others around me from unwanted incident light of the monitor. The electronic viewfinder is excellent. To boot, it is an excellent video recording machine.
It only has 12 megs of pixels. But, they are much larger than the typical pixel size so to allow ASA to range from 100 to 406,000. Practically speaking, there is no noticeable noise up to 26,000 ASA. And, shooting B + W, the higher ASA can really add to the effectiveness of the image while keeping the shutter speed for hand-held shooting (except for moon shots). It is nice to shoot wide open for some decent Bokeh under almost any light conditions.
The A9 has much higher MEG count, but do not know its ASA range. I am a hobbyist who likes to shoot without flash. I am also able to carry this all day with 2-3 other lenses in an unobtrusive shoulder bag, so it does travel well.
Good Luck!

BebuLamar

How much is the adapter and would it AF and support all modes with the A9? What is the fps of the A9 when you use Canon lenses? The A9 sensor is not as good as the Canon 5D Mk IV or the 5DDSR in term of image quality alone. The Sony is very fast in both AF and fps but how fast is it when using Canon lenses?
I think you either sell the lenses and buy the whole Sony system. Although Sony doesn't have as many lenses as Canon I think they have sufficient number of lenses. Otherwise go for a 5D (either version) which is less expensive, easier to use and I think the image quality is better too.

Lorendn Loc: Jackson, WY

There are several available adapters for Sony full-frame E-mount cameras but the first and most popular is the Metabones IV. It was developed for Canon lenses and now several models are available for other lens systems. It links the auto-focus, aperture, and lens meta-data to the camera body and works for most modern Canon lenses. The recent cost was about $400.

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

A9 frame rate with adapted glass varies from 10 to 15 FPS.

Shooting MOST Canon glass the frame rate is 10 FPS with the Metabones V. IF you try to shoot AF-C High, only the first frame will be in focus, hence the 10 FPS of AF-C Mid will be the best application.

AF speed with the Metabones V is excellent, with MANY reviewers concluding that it is EQUAL or better than on SOME native Canon bodies. Metabones IV does not perform as well or consistently.

There are other features the Metabones V adapter allows Canon glass owners. Both Focus Peaking AND Eye Auto focus are available with the new adapter, as is lens based image stabilization which will work in conjunction with the camera IBIS... a REALLY powerful feature. Otherwise, the camera offers 5 axis In Body Image Stabilization, perfect for older non-IS glass.

Keep in mind that the user interface of Sony E mount cameras is totally and completely different than Canon, and it MAY take some getting used to. But as reported above, the image quality and dynamic range of Sony sensors is EXTREMELY good... EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD. With great glass you have a winning combination.

D.T.

The adaptor is a Novoflex (about $240.00) is a spacer for all my lens, as only one of my lens has autofocus. My newest lens is the 21mm f3.5, which has autofocus connections. but being a 21mm wide angle, the autofocus is unnecessary because of the depth of field and such a wide angle (85 degrees diagonal). Focusing is only a slight twist of the lens because of its wide range for hyperfocal uses.